It's definitely been a busy year for you! I am glad that you were able to make it over to the US and see what the majority of us see beyond the big cities and traditional tourist areas. I hope one day you are able to make it to the Great Lakes Region. We don't have the mountains, but we have a lot of other awesome things to see.
The lakes sounds good. Truth to be told, I wasn't a massive fan of driving through the mountains and bendy roads. Despite the beautiful views, the ascend made me panic. I would never dare to drive 😰. Lakes sounds a lot safer.
Michigan and the surrounding area is pretty tame compared to all of that. Even in the western part of the upper peninsula it gets a little squirrely, but still not too bad.